In a tense and highly unusual courtroom clash, a federal judge ejected a senior federal prosecutor during a sentencing hearing and pressed the prosecution over who is actually in charge of the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office, according to the New York Times.
A routine sentencing spiraled into a courtroom standoff when the court ejected Mark Coyne, the office’s head of appeals, who had not formally entered his appearance in the case, causing the court to question prosecutors about their chain of command. The judge zeroed in on confusion surrounding former interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba (now a senior adviser at DOJ) and whether she still exerts influence over the office.
The court then ordered the three leaders of the New Jersey office, who last week were found to be occupying their positions unlawfully, to appear next month to testify about their office’s leadership structure.
The episode underscores mounting friction between the judiciary and Justice Department officials following disputed leadership appointments and ongoing questions about their authority.
Judges have warned that if the department continues to insist on installing the office’s leadership illegally, the integrity of criminal cases will be threatened. One judge wrote that President Trump’s reliance on illegal maneuvers to appoint New Jersey’s top prosecutors might mean that “scores of dangerous criminals” could have cases dismissed or convictions reversed, because the law would be in their favor.
“Generations of Assistant U.S. Attorneys had built the goodwill of that office for your generation to destroy it within a year,” the judge said.
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